Chinese and Russian tourists will not be eligible for entry into the CNMI under the joint Guam-CNMI visa waiver program until additional security measures are undertaken, according to proposed regulations released by the Department of Homeland Security yesterday.
The program will allow citizens of the following countries to enter Guam and the CNMI without a visa: Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Citizens of these countries would be eligible to stay in the CNMI or Guam for 45 days, up from the previous regulated 15.
The regulations state that, although DHS realizes the economic impact of China and Russia to tourism in the CNMI, the two countries will not be included in the program because of political, security and law enforcement concerns. The new regulations will take effect June 1, when section 702(a) of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 starts.
Some of the concerns hindering the inclusion of Russian and Chinese tourists into the program include high nonimmigrant visa refusal rates and concerns with repatriation of citizens to their home country.
The security concerns could be addressed in the next 12 to 18 months, at which point DHS would determine if the two groups would be eligible for the program.
'Devastating'
Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Jim Arenovski said the CNMI would be significantly impacted by the loss of the two markets.
“It's not a 100 percent surprise, because we had a hint, but it's devastating,” he said. “It's not a good thing,” noting that the two markets account for a fairly large percentage of the tourism market.
“Twenty percent of our economy, coupled with the fact that things aren't going well anyway,” he said. “What can we do about it? There's not a lot we can do about it.”
Arenovski urged all those affected by the new regulations to send in comments.
“This is not the time to be silent,” he said. “This is not the time to be upset. This is the time to sit down and write down what that's going to mean to you. To those folks that don't think those tourism dollars don't matter, it's going to have an effect on the amount of taxes going into the government,” which in turn impacts services like public safety, education and health care.”
DHS, for its part, agrees the CNMI will see the brunt of the impact.
“We anticipate that the CNMI will experience most of the economic impact of this rule because the rule federalizes the entry and exit procedures for nonimmigrant visitors to the CNMI,” DHS states.
Meanwhile, Guam will not be significantly affected economically because the visa-waiver only modifies Guam's existing program, extending the timeframe visitors can stay in the territory.
Charles Reyes, press secretary for the governor's office, said Tinian's economy would be virtually wiped out without Chinese tourists.
“Tinian would be devastated,” he said, noting that Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino caters to Chinese tourists and accounts for approximately 70 percent of the island's visitors.
“It would be very negative for Saipan as well, because, as you know, a lot of the hotels depend on Chinese and Russian tourists,” he said. He added that high-end retail stores, like DFS, depend on those tourists as well.
'Significant economic benefit'
Based on numbers provided by the Marianas Visitors Authority, DHS said they determined the two markets provided a “significant economic benefit to the CNMI.” Chinese nationals accounted for 10 percent of visitor arrivals, while Russian tourists account for 1 percent. On-island spending for Chinese and Russian tourists were $38 million and $20 million, respectively. Per-person spending for Chinese was $967 and $4,323 for Russians. Russian tourists tend to be high-income travelers who stay for about two weeks at a time.
However, DHS said the program could facilitate travel between Guam and the CNMI, according to DHS.
“[P] ackaged tours of both islands may appeal to some tourists, especially visitors that have already visited Guam,” the regulations state.
When determining what countries would be eligible for the visa waiver, DHS looked at which countries provided “significant economic benefit” from the number of visitors for pleasure entering the CNMI one year before the date of the CNRA's enactment. However, if a country was found to represent a threat to the welfare, safety or security to the U.S., then that country was not deemed eligible, according to the regulations.
Six-month extension
DHS officials met with leaders from the CNMI government and private sector yesterday to discuss the visa waiver program. During the meeting, DHS officials discussed the possibility of a six-month extension to the beginning date of the program, thereby allowing Chinese and Russian tourists six more months to enter the CNMI. During the six-month extension the security measures could also be worked on, said Arenovski, who was present during the meeting.
The delay, according to the regulations, would depend on the Secretary of Homeland Security, who would consult the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the governor of the CNMI.
Customs and Border Protection will incur costs needed to build, operate and maintain six ports of entry in the Commonwealth, according to DHS. CBP estimates it will cost approximately $25.8 million to develop the infrastructure and $153,100 per year for port operation and maintenance. An initial $3.7 million will also be incurred for personnel relocation and $7.8 million per year for personnel salary and $5.3 million per year for associated temporary costs, for a total of $87.3 million to $91.7 million, depending on discount rates.
Working with the feds
Reyes said Gov. Benigno Fitial would be working with CNMI Rep. Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan on the issue. Together, Reyes said, they can work with the new administration and Congress to communicate the impact the new rules will have on the CNMI.
Fitial is also inviting DHS officials to visit Rota and Tinian, in order “to see the economic activity on those two islands first hand and evaluate the likely negative impact of the denial of the Russia and Chinese visa waiver program for those islands, as well as Saipan,” Reyes said.
Sen. Paul A. Manglona has written to Rep. Sablan about the joint visa-waiver program, noting that a holdup of 18 months for the two markets “will be a severe disruption to those hotels and tour operators in the CNMI that already have marketing systems, personnel and infrastructure in place to accommodate these visitors.”
By continuing to allow Chinese and Russian tourists while transitioning to the federal system, Manglona said, the CNMI would be able to address proactively any security issues that may arise with the visa waiver program.
IN BRIEF
Guam-CNMI visa-waiver program
-Eligible countries: Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Hong Kong
-Will go into effect on June 1 with possibility of six-month delay. Until then CNMI immigration laws still in effect
-Visiting time extended from 15 days to 45 days
-To learn more: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1231970813067.shtm
-Comments about the regulations can be mailed during the next 60 days to: Border Security Regulations branch, Office of International Trade, Customs and Border Protection, Mint Annes799 9th Street, NW, Washington DC 20001
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